Brazil has become the second country to pass the one million mark in coronavirus cases, being surpassed only by the United States, at 2.2 million cases. The New York Times reports that some epidemiologists project that Brazils COVID-19 death toll, currently at almost 49 000, could exceed that of the US by late July.

Brazil has recorded 54,771 cases in the past 24 hours, which, it’s Health Ministry has explained to have been, at least partially, due to a lag in reporting from three states.

Brazils leadership has shown an inconsistent response to the virus. President Jair Bolsonaro had initially described COVID1-19 as a “little flu”, opposing state governors and mayors who adopted restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, and calling on Brazilians to go to work to prevent the economy from collapsing. Two doctors have resigned from the position of Health Minister, due to his handling of the pandemic.

The National Geographic, meanwhile, reports that the government’s sluggish response has left vulnerable tribal populations open to contagion.

On Friday, Brazil’s health ministry confirmed a total of 1,032,913 cases. Alexandre Naime Barbosa, a medical professor at São Paulo State University, said, “The true number is probably at least 3 million and could even be as high as 10 million people.”

Umm Muhammed Umar